WebinarsNew
Explore Business Standard
India's annual defence production touched an all-time high of Rs 1.78 lakh crore in the financial year 2025-26, the defence ministry said on Wednesday. The milestone represents a 15.6 per cent growth over the previous fiscal year's output of Rs 1.54 lakh crore and a staggering 110 per cent increase since 2020-21 when the figure was Rs 84,643 crore, it said. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the "remarkable rise" in India's defence production in recent years is the result of the collective efforts of the Department of Defence Production and all other stakeholders. "This upward trajectory is a clear indicator of the country's expanding defence industrial base," he said. "With sustained policy support, several new initiatives, increased private sector participation, and growing export capabilities, the defence production sector is poised for continued acceleration in the years ahead," he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Donald Trump last year that he was the "greatest friend Israel ever had in the White House". Now, as Trump tries to finalise a deal to end the war with Iran, he's unloading on Netanyahu with rhetoric that no other American leader has dared to use publicly. He claimed credit for Israel's existence - "without me, there would be no Israel" - and cursed his judgment in interviews. He even described him as "crazy". Netanyahu's tenure as prime minister spans four US presidents, and he's frustrated all of them at one point or another. But none has voiced that as openly as Trump, who started the conflict in tandem with Netanyahu. The tension comes as Trump criticises recent Israeli attacks in Lebanon, which threatened to jeopardise negotiations between Washington and Tehran. Trump has been pushing for a deal as he faces political blowback at home, where the war is unpopular and has driven up gasoline prices. "If Netanyahu gets in ..